New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly And Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown Announce Arrest Of North Carolina Gun Trafficker As Part Of "Operation Iron Pipeline"

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and
Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced the arrest of
Sydney Ifill, 32, a North Carolina-based gun trafficker, as part of a two-year
undercover investigation called "Operation Iron Pipeline." During the
investigation Ifill sold 11 illegal firearms to an undercover detective in New
York, including two MAC-11 semi-automatic machine guns, aBrowning
semi-automatic pistol, and numerous boxes of ammunition, for a total of
$8,270.

Police Commissioner Kelly said: "This arrest marks yet another
success in our continuing effort to rid this city of deadly firearms. This
individual tried to make quick cash by smuggling illegal firearms from North
Carolina and selling them anywhere he could in Queens. Instead, our officers
found him, tracked him, and put him behind bars. I want to commend everyone who
helped make this case a success, especially theundercover detective who put
his life on the line to capture this criminal."

District Attorney Brown
said: "The defendant is alleged to have sold 11 guns and assorted ammunition to
an undercover police officer in six separate transactions over a 13-month period
and to have received a total of $8,270 in exchange. The illegal sale of firearms
is a serious public safety threat because lethal weapons sold in the black
market infest our neighborhoods with gunfire and bloodshed and exact a deadly
toll of suffering and death."

"Operation Iron Pipeline" began in April
2001, after detectives developed information about Ifill and his gun-trafficking
operation. Ifill, who is a Queens native, got firearms from a variety of
sources, including gun shows and gun shops in North Carolina, as well as through
contacts in Virginia. He then brought them to New York and sold them wherever he
could.

Ifill was arrested on June 4, 2003, in his home at 47-02 Mallory
Court in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he subsequently waived extradition and
was then brought to New York. He was charged in a 22-count indictmentwith
criminal possession of a weapon and criminal sale of a firearm, and faces a
maximum sentence of 59-87 years in prison.